A man told the High Court in Glasgow how his house went on fire 36 hours after he had an argument with Scott Snowden.

The 49-year-old said the row developed after berthing master Snowden took him and his family out to their boat mooring at Rhu Marina at around 6pm on September 4, 2009.

The man, giving evidence at the trial of Snowden, 37, and 50-year-old Robert Jennings, who both deny the 22 charges against them including starting a blaze at the property in Rhu on September 6, 2009, said: “He bashed my boat twice with the launch and was telling me to shut up. I lost my temper and told him what I thought.”

Last week, the court also heard a caretaker identified Jennings on CCTV footage on BBC’s Crimewatch, as part of an appeal into the fire which killed three members of the Sharkey family, because he “walked with a swagger”.

Snowden and Jennings have lodged special defences of incrimination and alibi, with Snowden claiming he was in Mexico when the fire at the Sharkey home started and Jennings claiming he was home alone in Helensburgh.